To a person who is new in e-sports mentioning League of Legends in its abbreviated form “LoL” would ignite the memories of a popular internet slang that has already found its way into the English Dictionary-initials for laughing out loud(lol). However, for those who are not new to e-sports, including the new entrant to an activity that is currently breaking the internet, this denotes a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game associated with Riot Games. The Riot Games’ developed and published video game draws its inspiration from the Defense of Ancients. If you have recently visited esports betting sites, you may have discovered that this is one of the leagues that are prominently featured. Evelyn Balyton seeks to inform betting enthusiasts, fans of e-sports as well as the new entrants into this exciting activity of a major event, the League of Legends World Championship.
What is the ultimate prize for this Video games event?
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With this short background of the League of Legends and now that new entrants know that we are not “laughing out loud” let us embark on the LoL World Championship. These video game events are organized annually with the host being the Riot Games. They are a culmination of the grand season finale where teams gather in a given country and compete to win a 70-pound
Summoner’s Cup and a huge prize.
Just like e-sports, this event has been growing in popularity with each one of the World Championship seeing a huge rise in the number of people attending and watching the video game tournament. In 2018, the world record was broken where close to a hundred million people watched the LoL World Championship.
The event has come to be associated with ceremonial performances which have received great attention all over the world. It has been a huge success owing to its rising popularity. It is now recognized as the global most watched video game in the world. Its success and popularity have the world’s major sporting events organizers considering its inclusion in the calendar with some talks going around that it may be a future Olympics event. Already it has already been added as a medal event in the upcoming Asian Games in 2022.
Summoner’s Cup
The ultimate prize in the LoL World Championship is the Summoner’s Cup. This is a trophy that is commissioned by the owners of the League of Legends. The cup is said to weigh 70 pounds although the actual weight of the trophy which is awarded during the closing ceremony has been reduced to allow lifting. The trophy has been won by the following teams since its first event in 2011:
- 2011- Fnatic with Team Solomid and Epik Gamer emerging as runner-up
- 2012- Taipei Assassins emerged the winner while Azubu Frost, CLG Europe, and Moscow Five were position 2,3, and 4 respectively
- 2013- SK Telecom was the winner followed by Royal Club
- 2014- Samsung White took the cup while Star Horn Royal Club, OMG, and Samsung Blue followed in that position
2015- SK Telecom T1 won the trophy with KOO Tigers, Fnatic and Origen emerging
- numbers 2,3 and 4 respectively
- 2016- SK Telecom T1 defended the title successfully with Samsung Galaxy emerging as the runner-up
- 2017 – in an event held in China, Samsung Galaxy overthrew SK Telecom T1 to lift the trophy
- 2018 saw Invictus Gaming emerge as the winner and Fnatic runner-up
- 2019 saw FunPlus Pheonix lift the trophy in a tournament that was held in the cities of Berlin, Madrid, and Paris
- 2020 saw the Shanghai hosted even being won by Damwon Gaming while Suning, G2 E-sports, and Top Sports taking positions 2,3, and 4 respectively.
Who will it be in 2021?
Although we are yet to find out which teams will be participating in the 2021 event, video games fans are waiting to see whether the tournament which is being hosted by China for the third time will have any surprises. Some predict a successful defense of the title by the last year’s winners Dawson Gaming while others see the 2019 Summoner’s cup winners, the FunPlus Phoenix, a Chinese team that also participates in the Global Offensive, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and Valorant as the favorites.
It should not also be lost that the South Korean SK Telecom, T1 has won the most titles. T1, given its past performance, especially when they lifted the trophy two years in a row may be in a good form to lift the coveted e-sports title. Other competitors who may offset the table include the G2 Esports, a Germany team that also competes in Valorant, Rocket Leagues among other tournaments. They emerged as the runner-up in 2019, while in 2020 they were behind Suning. Suning, 2020 runner-up is also seen as a serious contender if they will be part of the 2021 squad.
With the participating teams not yet announced, we can only wait and see what transpires. We may have a new lineup given that E-sports are a highly dynamic activity. For betting enthusiasts, we will be here to tell you which teams will be participating and as we have normally done, give you insights on which team to watch in this tournament.